


On the Streets

by BelleDreamer



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: BDSM, F/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 11:23:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13569579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleDreamer/pseuds/BelleDreamer
Summary: Set in the world of Tokyo Ghoul, a case has been discovered by chance. A ghoul is attacking men and leaving them alive, but unwilling to speak about their attacker. The main witnesses are the prostitutes who deal with the victims and find they have little to say about their ghoul accomplice. The world is not black and white, it comes in shades of grey. This particular case reminds us that this world of ghouls and men is hardly easy to navigate. How can a person be good when they punish someone for defending the helpless. Can the investigators find this ghoul when the people who could help them the most are saying close to nothing? Are the investigators the heroes of this story or is it the mysterious ghoul?





	On the Streets

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Tokyo Ghoul, these characters and this story are a fever dream I wrote in an afternoon. Please pardon all typos and enjoy.

~*~*~

 

            Isao Yoshida was signing into his computer while his partner, Daisuke Saito, was checking his quinque when Captain Tsuyoshi Motsumoto appeared by their desks. They looked up as he held out a folder.

            "New case, just got it," he said and the two investigators shared a look. Any case delivered by the Captain himself had to be bad.

            "Identified Ghoul?" Daisuke asked and the Captain shook his head.

            "Looks like this one made a mistake," Motsumoto said.

            "How many victims?" Isao asked as he took the folder and opened it up. The image on the top victim file was from the DMV and showed a rather unattractive man with bad skin. He was overly fat, a good meal for a ghoul.

            "One," the Captain said and the two men froze. "That's not why this case is being given to you."

            "What makes this case special?" Daisuke asked, his eyes narrowed. Daisuke hated ghouls, a hate that made Isao uncomfortable with his partner. Daisuke would toy with his suspects, Isao preferred a quick kill.

            "The victim is Tadashi Ito, age four-seven, works from home on websites. He was found in a love hotel well within the Second Ward border," the Captain said and the two investigators froze. It was almost unheard of for a ghoul to dwell within Second Ward, not since the attack on the branch office years ago. "Take his testimony, he should be out of surgery by now."

            "What were his injuries?" Isao asked.

            "It's in the file," the Captain said before turning and heading out. Daisuke approached as Isao ran his finger down to the description.

            'Injuries: Complete removal of penile tissue, complete removal of scrotum and contents.'

            Isao felt shocked, a castration via ghoul? What did those monsters think? He looked down to see how the victim had survived. Under the comments a note was written.

            'Victim was reported to both hospital staff and hotel staff via a phone call from a disposable phone.' Isao pointed to the note and looked at Daisuke.

            "Do you think the ghoul called it in?" Isao asked as they grabbed their jackets and quinque cases.

            "I don't know why those beasts do what they do, but it is completely possible," Daisuke spat as they headed out.

 

~*~*~

 

            At the hospital the two ghoul investigators were taken up to Ito's room. Tadashi Ito looked horrified to see the two of them. His heart monitor began to increase in rhythm.  

            "Why are you here?" he demanded and the investigators were shaken. Usually victims couldn't wait to turn them onto the monsters that harmed them.

            "You were found with ghoul inflicted injuries," Isao said and Ito looked horrified.

            "I never said that! I never said it!" he shrieked and the monitor next to him began to alarm and several medical staff rushed in. "I never said it! I never said anything!" His screams were frantic and the two investigators moved out of the room. A doctor approached and sighed.

            "What is wrong with him?" Daisuke asked and the doctor shook his head.

            "I reported the injuries," the doctor said. "I am Dr. Hiroshi Tanaka. Mr. Ito was unconscious when he arrived. I knew what I was looking at right away. Come with me." The three men headed to an office. Dr. Tanaka typed at his computer before turning his attention towards the two.

            "You were his admitting doctor?" Isao asked and Dr. Tanaka nodded.

            "I shouldn't be talking to you, it violates Doctor-Patient confidentiality, but there is a ghoul out there and it is hurting men in this ward," Dr. Tanaka stated. "It is not killing them, but it is doing evil."

            "We won't name you in our reports," Daisuke said and Isao fought the urge to glare. He did not like omitting facts from reports and Daisuke knew it. Isao was not the type to play it fast and loose. Dr. Tanaka nodded before typing and clicking a few more times. He turned the computer towards them. Isao's stomach dropped. The images on the screen were of a body, dried blood covered the stomach and thighs. Where genitals should be was an injury, blood red shiny material that could only be part of a kagune stitched the flesh together.

            "Is that...kagune?" Daisuke said, clearly disgusted.

            "Yes," Dr. Tanaka said. "This is Mr. Ito, but he is not the only man I have seen with such an injury." With a click, there was a new image of a new set of thighs, fatter and hairier. These were clean. The area where genitals should have been was smoother, paler with scar tissue. The kagune was clearly falling off.

            "Who is this?" Isao asked.

            "I was told he would not answer to any ghoul investigators who appeared to question him when I asked to take a picture of his injury," Dr. Tanaka said. "He only agreed to submit to the picture when I told him of another victim who was further along in his healing."

            "There is another?" Isao cried.

            "There are three," Dr. Tanaka said. Three more images. These ones showed no kagune, but the injuries were all the same. "I give credit for the ghoul, its knowledge of anatomy is well done."

            "What do you mean?" Isao said, aghast by what he was hearing.

            "Mr. Ito is only here so soon after the attack because he has a slight form of hemophilia," Dr. Tanaka said.

            "Explain, Doctor," Daisuke growled and Dr. Tanaka sighed as he sat in his chair.

            "These four victims, they are all patients. They refused full physicals until they were admitted with illnesses where we had to examine them in full. This means they were capable of urination and life without their genitalia. These three, without the evidence of kagune stitching, were over a year after their loss, it took me two years to learn of these three. This man, I found just after the new year, and he was attacked five weeks prior. Mr. Ito was attacked this morning. The kagune will allow him to heal, with enough urethra and muscle to urinate properly," Dr. Tanaka said.

            "So, the ghoul is castrating them?" Isao asked and the doctor nodded.

            "With practically medical skill, however, the only reason we acquired Mr. Ito so soon after his attack is his hemophilia, he was bleeding too much and so the ghoul made the phone call," Dr. Tanaka said.

            "It was the ghoul?" Daisuke said and Dr. Tanaka nodded.

            "Mr. Ito was coming to and asked us if he was at the hospital, we told him yes and he sighed, 'didn't let me just die' and I could just make out 'ghoul didn't lie.' That is when I made the decision to call the CCG," Dr. Tanaka sighed. "I never thought he would refuse to speak to you. I don't understand why none of them would."

            "The ghoul threatened them," Daisuke stated and the doctor blinked.

            "It castrated them, left them alive, and threatened them?" Dr. Tanaka asked and the two investigators shared a look.

            "There are probably many more victims that we will never know about until their deaths," Isao said.

            "The ghoul attacks them....eats their...parts...and then threatens them that it will take the rest of them if they contact us," Daisuke said with a disgusted look.

            "Horrendous," Dr. Tanaka said.

            "Can you give us a list of the names of those men?" Isao asked and the doctor nodded.

            "I was planning to retire anyway," he sighed before printing a list.

 

~*~*~

 

            "Go away!" Shouta Nakamura screamed when he saw their badges. "Leave me alone!" He slammed the door and the two investigators sighed. All of the men on Dr. Tanaka's list refused to speak to them, nearly frantic when they saw them.

            "Fuck!" Daisuke said, kicking a trashcan as they headed out of the building. Isao shook his head as he looked at the file again. "Why wouldn't they talk?"

            "I suspect watching a monster eat a favored body part might make one inclined to do what said monster said," Isao sighed. "Let's go to the love hotel."

            "Might as well, fuck," Daisuke snarled as they headed on. Just because one lead finished in a dead end didn't mean that case was over that quickly.

 

~*~*~

 

            The hotel staff was far more accommodating than the victims and the owner was quick to bring the staff from the previous night in. Three women and three men sat in the room with Daisuke and Isao.

            "Do you recognize this man?" Isao asked, holding up Mr. Ito's picture. All nodded. "Could you explain?"

            "We don't know their real names, most customers come here don't want us to remember their names," one of the men said.

            "Especially men like him," one woman said, she looked angry.

            "Did he do something to you?" Isao asked and the woman looked at the others and the three seemed resigned.

            "That man is not a nice man," the second woman said.

            "He hurts them," the third said.

            "Hurts who?" Daisuke said.

            "The prostitutes," the third woman said.

            "Does he bring the same prostitute each time?" Isao asked, taking notes.

            "No...I don't think they work for him more than once," the first woman said. "I have cleaned up what he does. He makes his prostitutes bleed."

            "He's a beast!" the second hissed. "I have seen the girls after. He beats them too. I'm glad what happened to him!" The men looked nervous.

            "Do you think that way?" Daisuke asked, his anger clear. One of the men nodded.

            "He tries to get the girls who work here to join him and the whores. He is just as bad as a ghoul in my opinion," the man said and the investigators looked concerned. It was hard to get witnesses when a victim was hated. Some people viewed a ghoul death of a bad person as karmic.

            "What about the girl he was with?" Isao said and the group looked at each other.

            "We don't know her name...but I have seen her in the alley with the other working girls," one of the men said.

            "Can you tell us how to get there and what she looks like," Isao asked and the group nodded. One man drew a map while the others listed a description. She would be easy to find, apparently she had bright blue hair.

 

~*~*~

 

            In the alley there were already a collection of women when Isao and Daisuke arrived.

            "Hello ladies," Daisuke said as he held out his badge. Two of the prostitutes ran off and Isao was about to chase when Daisuke held out an arm. One of the prostitutes had bright blue hair and was still there with a cigarette in her lips. She stepped forward and crossed her arms.

            "You two are here about that fucker from last night," she said.

            "Good," Daisuke said. "Explain what happened last night." The woman looked pissed.

            "I needed the money," she said.

            "Your pimp getting rough?" Daisuke asked and a couple other girls chuckled.

            "Shut up!" the blue haired girl said.  

            "What's your name, Miss?" Isao asked and she looked at him for a moment before glaring at Daisuke again. Great, it would be good cop bad cop with her.

            "I go by Yoshino," she said, flicking her hair.

            "Could you please explain the incident last night?" Isao said with a smile. These women didn't need Daisuke treating them poorly again.

            "Most of the girls avoid that guy, we see him and leave for a while. But I needed the money, so...so I went with him because he does pay a lot for a go. We got to the love hotel and he got the ropes ready...I changed my mind when I saw the whips," Yoshino said. She moved her hair to show the large bruise that decorated the side of her face.

            "You could have called the cops," Daisuke huffed.

            "Like the cops care about whores," another woman scoffed.

            "A ghoul is a beast," Daisuke spat.

            "What's wrong with a pet that protects us?" Yoshino hissed. "When he smacked me across the face, I screamed for help. Not a single person in that hotel did a thing! He got me tied up all the while I was screaming my head off and when I was sure he was going to start hurting me, there was a knock at the door." Isao saw the tears in her eyes as she glared at Daisuke.

            "Who was it?" Isao asked and she looked at him. Her face told him she knew who was at the door.

            "My hero was a ghoul. That ghoul punched that prick out with one hit. Then set me free. Told me to go and that we wouldn't have to be afraid of that son of a bitch ever again," Yoshino said with a smile. "I hope he screamed like a bitch."

            "You saw that monster?" Daisuke asked and Yoshino looked him dead in the eyes.

            "No," she said and sucked on her cigarette. "I hope you never catch them. I hope they keep doing their job and protecting us. That's all you're getting from me." She turned and walked off. Daisuke began following her while Isao held up the pictures of the other victims.

            "Do you ladies recognize these men?" he asked and several of the women smiled.

            "Did she get them too?" one asked and two women smacked her.

            "Her?" Isao asked before his eyes widened. It was a common mistake for investigators to assume violent ghouls were males, Daisuke and he were thinking like the ghoul was male. "Shit!" He turned and ran to follow Daisuke. He rounded the corner to see neither Daisuke or Yoshino. "Damn it!" Isao began to run, he passed the first alley and saw Daisuke cornering Yoshino.

            "Listen, you worthless whore, we are going to hunt down and kill that fucking monster!" Daisuke snarled as he took a step towards Yoshino, she wasn't afraid in fact, she was smiling at Daisuke in a way that made Isao terrified.

            "Daisuke, the ghoul is female! The ghoul we are hunting is a female!" Isao cried and Daisuke stared at Yoshino for a second before throwing himself back and pulling up his gun. Yoshino looked a whole lot less confident then. Both investigators drew their side arms first.

            "You are coming with us, whore," Daisuke growled and Isao approached slowly, drawing his ghoul handcuffs. Yoshino didn't resist as he cuffed her.

 

~*~*~

 

            "Pure human," Isao sighed as he looked at Yoshino in the interrogation room.

            "Fuck..." Daisuke growled as he glared through the one-way mirror. "It couldn't be easy."

            "That was pretty stupid chasing after her when we had several other witnesses, more useful ones at that," Isao scolded and Daisuke glared.

            "Remember who is the junior investigator between us," he sneered and Isao glared at his partner.

            "Remember that splitting up is the number one way investigating teams end up dead," he shot back.

            "Fuck you," Daisuke sneered.

            "I'll talk to her, you fact check," Isao said.

            "I don't take orders from you, Yoshida," Daisuke snapped and Isao stared at his partner. He would be putting in a change of partner request, if he was lucky someone like Koutarou was looking for a partner. At this point finding a younger investigator would be better than working with Daisuke anymore.

            "Luckily for me the orders come from the Captain, apparently Miss Yoshino made it clear she would not speak with you anymore," Isao stated. "Also, you need to contact the hospitals in other wards to see if there are anymore of The Madam's victims."

            "The Madam?" Daisuke growled.

            "That's what the administration has dubbed this ghoul. Since she has been protecting prostitutes, it was decided she would be The Madam in our system," Isao said as he left the room and headed into the interrogation room. "Miss Yoshino, I owe you an apology, but you must understand that we are only doing our jobs." She looked at Isao with a distrusting eye.

            "Your partner is a dick," she said and Isao bowed.

            "I humbly apologize on behalf of the CCG for you treatment by Investigator Saito," he said and she made a noise.

            "It's not your fault you got partnered with an asshole like that," Yoshino said. She pulled out a cigarette from her bag that had been returned. Isao pushed an ashtray towards her before pulling out his file and setting up the pictures of the known victims.

            "From what I have gathered about these victims...they are not very nice men to...work for," he said and Yoshino chuckled, she looked sad.

            "I don't like doing this, you know," she said. "I got pregnant in high school. My parents kicked me out...and the father told me to abort our baby. He was going to university when I found out, while I...I still had my senior year. The school told me not to come back for it. I couldn't kill my baby. She's really smart, top of her class, she thinks I'm a convenience store worker, she doesn't know. I live in Twentieth Ward and she's going to go to university one day. She can hate me, as long as she never has to go through what I do." Isao looked at Yoshino and felt pity.

            "I'm sorry," he said honestly and she nodded.

            "You're one of the good guys. If you knocked up a girl, you would have married her, I can tell. We don't see your type often, but when we do, it's usually to save a junkie," Yoshino said, her eyes were gentle. "Someone chasing a sister or a friend or someone special. You're the type who would succeed at it. However, I can't wish you success on this."

            "Yoshino, we are calling the ghoul you are protecting The Madam," he said and she laughed.

            "Oh, that's funny," she giggled. "That's not even close to what she is." Isao realized something.

            "You know her," he said and Yoshino nodded.

            "She checks in with us," Yoshino said. "She's more like you than you know." Yoshino played with the glass of water in front of her. "She wasn't from Second Ward, she wouldn't tell me where she was from. She came to Second to find a friend. Apparently she actually made it through high school and had human friends."

            "How old is she?" Isao asked and Yoshino shrugged.

            "I honestly can't tell, I've seen her pass for eighteen and sometimes pass for forty," she said. "She changes her appearance to avoid you guys."

            "Was her friend human?" Isao asked and Yoshino nodded.

            "A friend she had since kindergarten, they did almost everything together...well, not eat people obviously, but they were close. Friend got into drugs. Ran off to walk the streets to pay for her habit. The Madam...as you want to call her...came to find her...to save her. She was too late," Yoshino said. "Look up Tomoko Nakagawa. That was her friend." Isao looked at the mirror. A few minutes later there was a knock and he went to the door. One of the younger investigators handed him a file and he took it. He sat down and opened the file. A pretty young girl looked at him. It was a high school ID photo.

            "That's her," Yoshino said. Isao flipped through.

            "She's in a coma," he said. "On life support....paid by an anonymous source. Is that supposed to be The Madam?" Yoshino shrugged.

            "I don't know. I just know that when she talks about her past everything is Tomoko-this and Nakagawa-chan-that," she said. "Read how she ended up in that coma." Isao read and sighed.

            "Rushed into a hospital by an unknown female," he said.

            "Check for ghoul attacks on that night," Yoshino said to the mirror and Isao nodded. Another few minutes passed and Yoshino put another cigarette into her mouth. Another knock at the door and another file. Isao read the file and looked at the attached pictures.

            "This is nothing like The Madam's other victims," Isao said.

            "She said she left him alive," Yoshino said and Isao nodded.

            "She did...he's in a special facility. Did she ever tell you what she did to him?" he asked and Yoshino shook her head.

            "She told me what he did to Tomoko Nakagawa and whatever she did...he deserved," Yoshino said in a cold voice. Isao put the photo down and Yoshino looked at it. She flinched.

            "She removed all of his limbs, castrated him, removed his eyes, cut off his ears, nose, lips, and tongue," Isao said. "He's still alive and can apparently still scream." Yoshino let out a puff of smoke and flipped open the Nakagawa file, turning it around to show him the images of the girl.

            "She was nineteen when he did that to her, I say The Madam is pretty fucking fair," Yoshino stated. "Do you know what she does for us?" Isao didn't want to hear it but he knew he needed Yoshino to talk. "The Madam couldn't save Nakagawa, but she made a decision to risk herself in Second Ward to protect us working girls. You want to find her victims...start with the known pimps because we working girls, we don't have to pay for our protection anymore and the freaks who do hurt us...well, The Madam makes sure they don't need our services anymore." Isao blinked at that.

            "I don't suppose I could get you to give us a description?" he asked and Yoshino looked at him with a sad smile.

            "Am I under arrest?" she asked and he shook his head.

            "Thank you for this information," he said.

 

~*~*~

 

            That night on his way home from work Isao took the long detour out to Tomoko Nakagawa's hospital. He headed up to see the woman. The respirator made a awful hissing noise and her heart beat slow and steadily. He looked down at her, thin and gaunt. The white lines of scars crossed her face where her client had sliced into her. She was pale with short hair, neatly clipped. He looked at her, like a sad version of Sleeping Beauty.

            "You missed her parents," a nurse said from the door. She was carrying flowers. She brought them to the side of the bed. It was a live display, masterfully crafted by a flower arranger...perhaps a professional.

            "Lovely piece," he said.

            "It was left by her childhood friend," she said and Isao blinked.

            "Did you catch the name of that friend?" he asked and the nurse shook her head.

            "She couldn't come up to visit, she left it at the main desk, it was so lovely we wanted to make sure Miss Nakagawa's parents saw it. They seemed to know who it was from," she said and Isao knew he would be making a stop tomorrow morning.

 

~*~*~

 

            Isao stopped by the Nakagawa residence bright and early. The woman who opened the door had to be close to his own mother's age, but she looked nearly a decade older.

            "Mr. and Mrs. Nakagawa, I am ghoul investigator Isao Yoshida, I would like to ask you a few questions," he said and the woman blinked before sighing.

            "Come in," she said and he entered. He had called to tell Daisuke he was following a witness lead and would come in after seeing if it bore fruit. A man sat at the breakfast table.

            "Honey, this is Ghoul Investigator Yoshida," Mrs. Nakagawa said and the man's face closed. They knew. Isao bowed to them both.

            "I wanted to follow up on the incident with your daughter," he said and Mrs. Nakagawa went to the sink to begin washing the breakfast dishes.

            "Ask your questions," Mr. Nakagawa said.

            "Do you know who was searching for Tomoko?" he asked and Mr. Nakagawa nodded. "Do you know who brought Tomoko to the hospital after she was attacked?" He nodded again. "Were they the same person?" No movement. "You do know that this person is a ghoul. She has maimed multiple men."

            "Pimps and women beaters that the police didn't bother to clean up!" Mr. Nakagawa snarled as he stood up. Isao blinked as Mrs. Nakagawa placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

            "Investigator...the woman who you have been tasked with hunting, she tried to save our baby girl. Our son died in a car accident when Tomoko was a teenager, that woman, helped Tomoko through that time. They were very close. When Tomoko turned to drugs, that woman tried to stop her. When Tomoko ran away, we...we begged her to help us," Mrs. Nakagawa sobbed and her husband hugged her.

            "The police did nothing. She was eighteen, it wasn't like she was child we could report missing. We were told to wait at home, but that girl...that woman...she went out, night after night, risking her safety going into the Second Ward. She found our Tomoko. She tried to drag her back, but was afraid to show her true skill," Mr. Nakagawa said. "She told us what she was that night." His face was clouded, reliving the night his daughter had been found. "She confessed it all to us, her kakugan exposed, our daughter's blood and the blood of that monster on her. She cried for our Tomoko and she begged our forgiveness for not being able to save her." Tears rolled down Mr. Nakagawa's face. "As far as we are concerned, that girl has been more humane than any of the humans we met while trying to find our Tomoko." The couple hugged and Isao was torn. Clearly The Madam was no normal ghoul.

            "May I see Tomoko's room?" he asked and the two looked at him.

            "We couldn't stop you anyway," Mr. Nakagawa said and Isao got up and headed upstairs. A small sign still hung on the door. 'Tomoko' was carved in the little wooden heart. Isao opened the door and saw a room preserved, perhaps in hope that the girl it housed would one day wake up. The bed was made with a pink cover. Isao sniffed, Mrs. Nakagawa still changed the sheets and he felt pity. Many victims' families dealt with grief this way.

            A desk was set up with books and yearbooks. He caught one and opened it up. He found Tomoko and searched her class. The girls looked so normal, was one of these The Madam. He sighed as he touched Tomoko's face. A child who would fall down a dangerous path. He put the yearbook down and looked at the corkboard behind the desk. Pictures of girls with Tomoko were all over it. Pictures of Tomoko and a boy who looked like her. Her brother. He shook his head before he noticed a photo booth picture collection. Tomoko and another girl grinned at the camera, posing in different positions. Isao looked at the pictures, the girl was in all of them. He opened the yearbook again, but the girl was missing.

            "She won't be in the yearbooks," Mrs. Nakagawa said from the doorway. "That girl was smart, her parents trained her well. We never met her parents. I went to the address the school had for her not long after she brought Tomoko home. The building was demolished, I don't know when, or if she ever lived there." She sat down on the bed before looking at Isao. "I hope you never find her. She loved Tomoko, I never realized that ghouls might actually like us. It took another human harming  my daughter to realize what makes a monster, it's not your species." She looked at the pictures. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Isao picked up a pink book. It was a journal, he flipped through and realized that black marks showed here and there. "I knew you might one day come for her. So I made sure to edit Tomoko's journal. They say if you write words over pre-existing words, it is impossible to read the original writing." Isao sighed as he stared at the black marks. It looked like Mrs. Nakagawa had written hundreds of different words over The Madam's name.

            "I could arrest you for tampering with evidence," he said before placing the journal back.

            "You won't," she said and he looked at her.

            "You don't know me," he said and she smiled.

            "You remind me of my son," she said. "He was so honest as well. He would have been betrayed by her being a ghoul, but he also would have thanked her for what she did to that monster."

            "I never said that," Isao said and Mrs. Nakagawa shook her head.

            "I am not so old as not to recognize pity and empathy. You are a good man who had his foundation shaken. My husband wore the same expression on his face when she knelt before us, soaked in blood, crying for our Tomoko," she said as she took a picture out of the desk drawer. It showed the two girls smiling brightly at their high school entrance. "We knew her since Tomoko was in kindergarten. She fought off bullies picking on Tomoko for her stutter. She walked Tomoko to and from school. She went so far as to help Tomoko get over that stutter. To learn she was a ghoul, I realized the truth. They are not all monsters. The monster who gave my Tomoko the drugs. The monster who taught her to be a whore. The monster who left her barely alive, they were monsters, but that sweet ghoul girl who cried for my Tomoko...she was never a monster until she saw what human monsters had done to our Tomoko." Mrs. Nakagawa smiled at the ghoul in the picture with her daughter. "We have not seen her again since that night. She sends us a card every year on our anniversary and on Tomoko's birthday. She pays for Tomoko's hospital bills. She is more human than anyone else I know." Isao nodded and bowed.

            "Thank you for letting me in and for telling me that," he said as he headed downstairs to see Mr. Nakagawa. "I apologize for reminding you and your wife of such pain." He bowed and Mr. Nakagawa nodded.

            "I pray you never find her," he said and Isao left the house. Daisuke would be furious he found nothing from this lead, still, The Madam would be hard to capture if half her witnesses considered her good and her victims were seen as villains themselves.  

 

~*~*~

 

            "Seriously, you found nothing?" Daisuke growled and Isao nodded.

            "My lead was another sympathetic," Isao said and Daisuke swore more.

            "What the fuck is wrong with people? She is a ghoul. A freak. A monster. They should want us to find her," he snapped. "At least we have some other leads to follow."

            "What's the plan?" Isao asked and Daisuke held up a list.

            "A list of pimps from the police and a collection of hospital patients with matching wounds to The Madam's MO," Daisuke grinned.

            "Let's go, you can drive," Isao chuckled, it always made Daisuke more pleasant to drive.

 

~*~*~

 

            "Mr. Matsuo, we are ghoul investigators look into the case of..." Isao got halfway through the sentence when the man at the door went pale as a sheet and slammed the door shut.

            "Go away!" he cried and there was the sound of multiple locks slamming into place.

            "Fuck!" Daisuke snarled. All their pimps had refused to speak. "What the fuck is she saying to them to keep them quiet? They should want to spill their guts. She took their fucking dicks!"

            "I wonder," Isao muttered as he looked at the door.

 

~*~*~

 

            "I cannot give you the name of the patient, but I can tell you what he said to me while he was drugged," Dr. Kojima stated and Isao prayed it was useful. Daisuke was furious and seemed to be at the end of his rope with his patience. It would be lucky if they got off without him threatening someone with violence. The doctor pulled up images familiar to the investigators by this point. Male thighs and stomach with the kagune stitching across where the genitalia should be.

            "This man was a pimp by trade. He came in on his own a few days after this was done to him. You can tell by the healing around the incision," Dr. Kojima stated. He pointed at the stitch work. "Your ghoul is a fair tailor."

            "Seamstress," Isao correct and Dr. Kojima hummed.

            "Anyway, the blood loss was minimal and the stitch was pristine, but not medical," he said. "This patient was concerned by the kagune in his flesh. I inspected him and took the pictures, but he refused to allow me to call the police. I gave him some painkillers and tried again but he refused again. He told me that the ghoul that did this used her teeth to remove his pieces and her kagune to hold him still, keep him quiet and...erect."

            "I'm sorry...what?" Daisuke asked and the doctor shuddered.

            "She started with the scrotal region and worked her way to the penile region," Dr. Kojima explained. "She pretended to be another whore, but when he prepared to secure her for his pleasure, she struck. Her kagune wrapped around his wrists and ankles." He pointed to another picture that showed the body from the neck down. Bruises decorated the lower arms and legs. "She also shoved her kagune into his mouth and throat, allowing him to breath but keeping his vocal cords still. She also used another to massage the prostate, keeping him erect while she devoured his flesh. She sewed him up while she was eating." Isao stared.

            "She has at least seven tendrils," Daisuke muttered.

            "A rinkaku or bikaku," Isao added.

            "Did he mention her threatening him?" Daisuke asked and the doctor shook his head.

            "She did the opposite," Dr. Kojima explained. "She told him to let everyone know that his last ejaculation was into her waiting mouth before she took the last bite. His last sexual ecstasy was to the ghoul that ate his sex away."

            "That's fucking sick," Daisuke muttered and Isao had to agree.

            "Sick or not, she kept the blood loss to a minimum," Dr. Kojima said. "This patient is not the only one we have seen with this done to them, but he is the only one I managed to get any information out of."

            "Fucking sick ghouls," Daisuke growled and the doctor nodded.

            "Can you tell us anything else?" Isao asked and he shook his head.

            "I'm sorry gentlemen, that is all I can tell you," he said.

            "Could we get a list of the patients' names?" Daisuke asked and Dr. Kojima looked insulted.

            "I am a medical professional and seeing as you are already investigating this particular ghoul you will understand why I won't be supplying you with a list of my patients' names," he stated. Isao got up.

            "Come on, Doc..." Daisuke began and Isao headed out. Dr. Kojima might be willing to discuss what he heard and could say, but he wouldn't be supplying them with any information he felt fell under doctor-patient confidentiality. Isao leaned against a wall before shaking his head. The Madam would not be easy, she might even fall to the sidelines. The number of victims was well into the dozens and without those victims coming forward with their stories it wasn't likely they would catch her.

            "Come on," Daisuke growled and Isao was worried. That tone only spelled trouble.

 

~*~*~

 

            As Isao knew, Daisuke had trouble on his mind. Daisuke was a good investigator when he had useful leads, but in tough cases like these, he tended to lose his head. Isao wished his partner transfer had gone through as they approached the alley. The prostitutes saw them and several began to walk away.

            "Don't you go anywhere!" Daisuke snarled, more women left and Daisuke swore as he began to walk faster.

            "You don't seem to learn, do you?" Yoshino sighed as she looked at Daisuke.

            "Shut up, you slut," he sneered and she shrugged as she turned and started to walk away. Daisuke grabbed her wrist and Yoshino cried out in pain. Another woman quickly grabbed Isao.

            "I'll take you to Jishi, just leave us alone!" the woman cried and Daisuke grinned before shoving Yoshino away. She fell and glared up at him.

            "Finally, sometimes it takes beating the trash around to get what you need," he sneered.

            "Thank you..." Isao began and the woman sighed.

            "Call me, Mikawa," she said and she began to walk.

            "What did you call that bitch?" Daisuke said and Mikawa glared as she kept her eyes forward.

            "Her name is Jishi," she said.

            "Might high name for a ghoul that eats dick," Daisuke sneered.

            "She protects us," Mikawa said.

            "And look at you betraying her," Daisuke said but Mikawa didn't reply as they walked from alley to alley. Entering an area of warehouses. She walked up to one and knocked. There was silence. She walked up to another one and knocked. Silence.

            "Are you jerking us around?" Daisuke sneered.

            "Did you know, we love Jishi?" Mikawa asked.

            "She's has been one of our hardest cases because of how witnesses view her," Isao said and Mikawa nodded.

            "She saves us in more ways than you know," Mikawa said and Isao felt the prick of a needle. He turned to see one of the prostitutes from earlier looking at him. He struggled to grab his weapon but his body felt heavy. He fell to his knees. Daisuke was in no better shape.

            "Fuck...you...bitches..." he growled and Isao looked up to Yoshino.

            "Don't worry," she said as the world vanished into darkness.

 

~*~*~

 

            Isao woke up slowly to the sounds of a woman humming. He faded in and out of focus for a moment before Daisuke's muffled screams brought him to focus quickly. He was tied to a wheelchair, stripped down to his boxers. He blushed deeply as he realized he was tied with his arms around the back of the chair at the wrist and his legs at the ankles. Additional ropes secured his thighs to the bottom of the chair and a rope around his chest to the back of the chair.

            "What..." he muttered as he looked to see Daisuke tied to the wall. A stock held his neck and wrists secured to the wall behind him. Shackles with a bar between them kept his legs wide. Unlike Isao, Daisuke was completely naked and a ball gag was in his mouth.

            "Don't worry, Investigator Yoshida, I haven't done anything to your partner, Yoshino just told me how he treated her," a woman said and Isao looked around the room. It looked like the interior of a love hotel. Purple walls and floor with shaggy soft material, a mirror on the ceiling, a massive bed with all sorts of sexual toys. He looked at the woman in the corner and was not surprised to see a woman wearing a mask. It looked similar to a Venetian mask. It left her mouth exposed but covered her face from cheeks and nose to forehead. It even came down on the sides to wrap her neck from jaw to shoulders in lace. Her pale skin flashed in places. A pattern of teal eyelashes was sown around the eyeholes. Tiny jewels were added to the lace in gentle patterns around her cheeks and forehead. She was dressed in a small, black robe, as if she had just come from the shower. She was sitting at a vanity, bright red lipstick sat on it, a shade that probably matched the ruby color on her lips.

            "Good evening, Jishi," Isao said and the lips curved into a smile that reminded him of the picture of two schoolgirls years ago.

            "Good evening, Investigator Yoshida," she said. Isao knew he should have been terrified, but he found himself certain she was not malicious. "I apologize for the ladies, they are as protective of me as I am of them."

            "You have protected them better than any man they have known, so I am not surprised," he said and Daisuke snarled behind his gag.

            "Your partner has quite the mouth," she said as she looked over to Daisuke. Her kakugan were striking behind the mask. "He also has a few secrets he wouldn't like you to know about." She opened a drawer in the vanity and pulled a tablet out. She began to press buttons before she walked over. "I suspected Tadashi would result in this, so when you showed up, I was pleased to see Daisuke was assigned my case."

            "You refer to me as Investigator but call Daisuke by his given name," Isao stated as he realized it. Jishi smiled and flicked her long, straight black hair over her shoulder.

            "Your partner likes to visit us here in Second Ward," Jishi explained as she placed the tablet onto Isao's thighs. She pressed play and video footage popped up. "Oops, volume is off." The video looked like hidden cameras on the body. The video played, revealing Daisuke approaching.

            "How much?" Daisuke asked.

            "What are you looking for?" the woman with the camera on her asked.

            "Some BDSM," Daisuke purred.

            "Three," she said and he sneered.

            "Fucking hell, you better be worth it," he snapped.

            "I'll get you off," she huffed. The scene cut to a love hotel and the woman tied to the bed as Daisuke spanked her. The camera must have been on her clothes. She probably set it up to record this.

            "Take it you worthless slut!" Daisuke growled before he quickly began to thrust in. Isao blushed as he looked away. Jishi tapped on the tablet, the same basic scene played again and again. Six different women, then Isao noticed the dates. These were months before the case came in. It looked like every weekend Daisuke was playing with the whores. Isao blushed more.

            "I get it, he visits prostitutes," Isao said looking away.

            "You are very innocent, Investigator Yoshida, you should get married to a nice girl," Jishi said. "I wish someone like you could have been the one Tomoko met after Souta's death." Isao looked up at her.

            "These are  before we even knew about you," Isao said and Jishi nodded.

            "There are two things you need to understand, Investigator Yoshida," Jishi said as she got up and put the tablet away. "One, since Tomoko's attack, I have made it my priority to protect the women who turn to selling their bodies. I am a well known secret. I offer them all a simple device. I sew it into their clothing and I keep watch. I record it all and keep an eye on the dangerous clients. I know when they are too dangerous and I make sure to stop them. Haven't you noticed the number of prostitutes that are taken by ghouls is low?" Isao blinked.

            "No...I hadn't," he muttered and she smiled. Isao never thought a ghoul could smile like that.

            "That's because I use my kagune to make the thread that I stitch my cameras into place with. The thread I make allows other ghouls to smell me. Most are polite enough to leave any human seeped in the scent of another ghoul alone. It marks our humans as ours. Many use it for marking a slow prey mark, others use it to protect their friends. All the prostitutes you saw protecting me, are protected. The last of my friends who was killed by a ghoul, I made a clear message about. He was strong, but his kagune was no match for mine," Jishi explained.

            "What is two?" Isao asked and Jishi smiled.

            "I don't need to devour human flesh to live comfortably," she explained and Isao blinked in shock.

            "You don't?" he asked and she shook her head.

            "It is less satisfying to live on an all liquid diet, but ghouls can," she said.

            "I don't under..." Isao said before he turned bright red. Jishi chuckled.

            "That's right, as long as I'm willing to let a man get off in my mouth, he gives me all the protein that a healthy ghoul like me needs," Jishi explained. "I can work very hard one night a month, or I could work a few times a week and I can drink all the human material I need to live without taking a single human life."

            "Is that possible?" Isao asked, still blushing. Jishi nodded.

            "However, we have a problem," she said and Isao looked at her. She turned her eyes to Daisuke.

            "What about him?" Isao asked and Jishi sat down across from him.

            "Your companion is violent, he is becoming more so. You saw what he was doing to those women. How much longer do you think it will take before he goes too far?" Jishi asked.

            "I refuse to allow you to do that to him!" Isao said and Jishi smiled.

            "Did you notice I didn't show you anything in the last four months?" Jishi asked and Isao stared. "Come in Ai." A door Isao had never noticed before opened and a woman walked in. At first Isao thought it was Yoshino but on second look she only looked like Yoshino. "This is Ai, Daisuke visited her last night." Daisuke began screaming and thrashing. Ai turned to Isao and his eyes widened before he glared at Daisuke. Kagune stitches held the side of Ai's face together while the eye on that side was missing.

            "What happened?" Isao snarled.

            "Daisuke happened," Jishi stated as she held up the tablet and a video played. Ai clung to Jishi like a child, flinching at the sound of her own screams. Isao wanted to look away, but he couldn't as he stared at the video. "Can you honestly defend him?"

            "Why?" Isao demanded as he glared at Daisuke, the look in his partner's eyes said it all. Ai was a prostitute, she wasn't a person. Isao felt sick to his stomach. Jishi wrapped an arm around Ai and hugged her.

            "So you cannot defend it either. I'm glad," Jishi said. "Ai, take Investigator Yoshida out. He should be released."

            "Wait..." Isao cried. "What are you going to do?" Jishi smiled at him.

            "You know what I'm about to do," she said as Ai was pushing the wheelchair out of the room. She closed the door behind her and they began to walk through a corridor. She stopped and tied a blindfold on him.

            "This is wrong..." he moaned.

            "Your partner has connections in the police force. Would I ever have been given the justice I deserve?" Ai asked and Isao groaned. Daisuke's younger brother was a higher up in the police force. There was no way that trial would have happened.

            "I should help him!" Isao said.

            "You are as honorable as your name, you deserve a partner who was the same," Ai said.

            "I will report all of this," he said as the screams began to come down the hall. He flinched.

            "It's not your fault, Investigator Yoshida, Jishi isn't killing him. Her stitches actually allow a lot of healing, in fact, he will be able to walk home after she is done," Ai said.

            "He will never forgive me," Isao hissed.

            "You couldn't have done anything, the ropes we used were made by Jishi," Ai said and Isao winced as another scream echoed, further away.

            "He will want revenge," Isao stated.

            "No, Jishi will humble him," Ai said.

            "You don't know Daisuke," Isao said.

            "You don't know Jishi," Ai replied. It seemed like hours, turning back and forth, an very useful way to get him to lose his bearings. He wasn't sure how far they had actually gone, but he hear Daisuke's screams for a long time.

            "I will be back to find Jishi," Isao said.

            "You won't find her, we won't allow it," Ai replied before the sound of an elevator and Isao felt himself moving up. It was quiet and he felt a prick on his neck before he felt heavy again.

 

~*~*~

 

            Isao woke up in the love hotel that had started the case. He was in bed with his clothes on the nightstand. He was up faster than he thought he could. He dressed and was shocked to see his quinque by the door. He grabbed it and rushed to the main desk. The woman sitting there was staring at her magazine.

            "Who checked me in?" he demanded.

            "Welcomed guest, this establishment does not record such information," she said, not looking at his face. He pulled his badge.

            "I want to know!" He yelled, making her blink as she looked up.

            "What room were you in?" she asked and he paused.

            "The fourth floor," he said and she smiled.

            "That's impossible," she said and he stared.

            "I'm telling you I came from the fourth floor," Isao cried, how many people were willing to allow Jishi to do as she was.

            "I'm telling you, sir, there is no fourth floor," she explained and Isao blinked as he headed back to the elevator. Sure enough there was no fourth floor.

            "I...I..." he glared. "I'll be back with a warrant." He headed out quickly getting a cab and heading to CCG. He entered and Captain Matsumoto met him at the door.

            "Yoshida, you should come with me," he said and Isao blinked.

            "Sir we have to rescue Daisuke!" Isao said and Matsumoto shook his head.

            "That won't be necessary," he said.

            "I heard what The Madam was doing to him! She captured us both!" Isao stated and Matsumoto nodded.

            "We know," he said and Isao stood there dumbfounded.

            "You...you know?" he asked and the Captain nodded again.

            "Yes, Daisuke made it back before you," he said and Isao gasped.

            "Where is he? Is he alright?" Isao cried and Matsumoto grabbed Isao by the shoulder and gave him a shake.

            "Yoshida, come with me," he said. Isao realized where they were going shortly. It was the room where they watched security footage. "Sit down." Isao felt dizzy.

            "Sir...what happened to Daisuke?" he asked.

            "Investigator Saito returned to us early this morning, he was dropped off by a vehicle. Two women with hoods that obscured their faces pulled him from the trunk and dumped him in front of the building. They were so quick no one could stop them and the vehicle was discovered on fire twenty minutes ago. All evidence destroyed. The VIN number was ripped out of the frame," Matsumoto explained. "Saito told us nothing, just entered the building, went to the weapons room, took a pistol, and ended his own life." Isao rocked in his seat as if he had been hit. Daisuke was dead. Daisuke had killed himself.

            "This is what appeared on the news just minutes after his death," Matsumoto stated as he turned on one of the televisions. It showed a reporter talking about corruption within the police regarding crimes against prostitutes, highlighting several men that had been on the case victim list. Daisuke appeared and video footage of him assaulting Ai was shown with blurs in the appropriate locations. "It appears The Madam has been planning on this being her end game. Several prostitutes have come forward to speak about police officers abusing them, hiding the crimes of politicians, drug dealers, and others for information about greater crimes than assaulting prostitutes." Yoshino was in front of the cameras with a few other girls Isao recognized.

            "Do they know about the ghoul aspect?" Isao asked.

            "No, but we have made the statement, however, the prostitutes point out we allowed one of our own to abuse them as well," Matsumoto sighed. "We have decided to shelf The Madam for now."

            "I met her," Isao said and Matsumoto nodded again.

            "I already know, she sent us a video as well," he said. Another monitor showed the familiar mask.

            "I wish to let the CCG know, I will only harm the men who harm prostitutes. In light of the current news, should the CCG make it known that a ghoul is seeking revenge on those that harm the prostitutes of Tokyo, I will have to go hungry as men will make better decisions when hiring their prostitutes. All of my victims have walked away alive...all but one and he should have died for what he did. I allowed both your investigators tasked with my death to come back to you alive. I think I will take a vacation for a awhile, Ai needs to heal after what Investigator Saito did to her," Jishi said into the camera. "You really should put Investigator Yoshida on victim interrogation instead of investigation. He is too honest to deal with my kind and will end up killed." She bowed and the video ended.

            "There has to be something we can do!" Isao said and Matsumoto looked at him.

            "You are being put on desk duty, the CCG is suffering too much right now. After the disaster at the Cochlea, we don't need any more media attention," Matsumoto said and Isao stared at him before sighing. He was too shaken, he couldn't think. "You will need to meet with the psychologist regularly after what you have been through..." Isao accepted his new duties, exhausted mind, body, and soul.

 

~*~*~Months Later~*~*~

 

            Isao Yoshida smiled as he welcomed the orphan into the Second Academy's dorms. The switch from Investigator to instructor had been a positive one. Isao was too shaken to be a good investigator anymore and he accepted that, but he still felt he had a role in the CCG, even if it was only teaching the children in the Academy how to fight.

            "So your name is Keiichi Mori," Isao said with a smile. "I'm Instructor Yoshida." The boy looked up at him and smiled.

            "Auntie said you were the one I had to find," Keiichi said and Isao blinked.

            "I'm sorry, I don't recognize your name, do I know your Auntie?" he asked and Keiichi shook his head.

            "You spoke to my Auntie a while ago, she felt really bad about what happened to you. When my mother died, Auntie told me I should go to the school where you worked," Keiichi said and Isao stared at him. There was something about that smile.

            "What is your aunt's name?" he asked.

            "Yoshino," Keiichi grinned. "Auntie can't take care of me and my cousin, so she sent me here." Isao stared at Keiichi for a moment.

            "Your aunt has a tough job," he said as they walked upstairs.

            "Not anymore, Lady Jishi got Auntie as better job a while ago. Auntie could pay for my mother's funeral. Lady Jishi is the best," Keiichi said and Isao froze.

            "Keiichi, you can never mention that woman again," Isao ordered and Keiichi smirked.

            "Lady...she said you would say that," he said before opening his bag and holding something out. "She wanted you to have this, she said you would know what it could do and that it was a way to thank you." The box was small and Isao accepted it.

            "This will be your room. Your roommate Souta Houtou is in classes now, he will explain the schedule to you," Isao said before Keiichi smiled and waved.

            Isao returned to his room and stared at the small box. He considered getting a drink before shaking his head and opening the box. A beautiful red handkerchief was folded within. A scrap of paper lay on top of it. Isao opened the paper.

            'He knows nothing about my truth, keep it that way," the note read. As Isao burned the note, he studied the handkerchief, in the light threads glowed red more than others. Jishi's kagune thread was invisible unless someone knew what they were looking for. A means of protection from other...polite ghouls. Isao wondered about Keiichi as he looked at the handkerchief. The boy had no idea how special his aunt's patron was. Isao wondered what Jishi was up to and how she had gotten Yoshino a better job. He tucked the handkerchief into his pocket and decided to head to the showers, the morality of the CCG was no longer his problem his job to was to teach kids how to fight, they would decide where they would go from there.

 

~*~*~

 

            "I'm sorry but Lady Jishi is booked for the next month," Yoshino said from her desk in reception. The man in front of her looked heart stricken.

            "I'll pay double!" he cried.

            "Ai has learned a lot from Lady Jishi," Yoshino suggested and the man looked at the pictures in the lobby.

            "I suppose for now, but I would like an appointment with Lady Jishi as soon as possible," he said with a pout. Yoshino smiled and began setting it up so he could see them both.

 

~*~*~

 

            "The roof needed to be fixed, but she took care of it," Mrs. Nakagawa said as she brushed Tomoko's hair. "She also sent this arrangement. It looks so beautiful next to you. I wish you could see it."

            "Mrs. Nakagawa," the doctor said from the door and the woman looked over.

            "Yes?" she asked.

            "May I introduce Dr. Patel, the patron who sends the flowers requested him. He's a neurosurgeon from India. He has experience with cases like Tomoko's," the doctor said as an Indian man entered beside him. "I don't want to get your expectations too high, but he does have a sixty percent success rate..." Mrs. Nakagawa began to weep.

 

~*~*~

 

            Jishi smiled as the man entered her room, his face flushed with arousal as he saw her in her dominatrix outfit.

            "I'm told you like it when a woman makes you bleed," she purred.

            "Yes, Mistress," he groaned as he fell to his knees and Jishi smiled It was always nice when she got more than one fluid in her diet.

            "Let's begin...strip!" she ordered.

 

~*~*~     


End file.
